IEA voices support for Indonesia?s energy reforms
Wednesday, July 20 2016 - 01:30 PM WIB
Birol was delighted by the importance Vice President Jusuf Kalla placed on being ?part of the IEA family?. Indonesia has been an IEA Association member since the IEA Ministerial in November 2015.
The meeting with the Vice President followed two days of extensive discussions between Birol, Minister of Energy Sudirman Said and senior officials from the government and industry.
On Monday, Birol participated in an Executive Roundtable chaired by Sudirman, which focused on Indonesia?s energy sector reforms and efforts to boost energy sector investment. These reforms include first and foremost subsidy phase-out programs, as well as incentivizing renewable energy and capacity building for more efficient energy production and use. The event was attended by high-level officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of National Development Planning, state utility companies, and the National Energy Council.
That evening, Birol was hosted for dinner by Dr Subroto, former OPEC Secretary General and Indonesian Oil Minister, with other guests including Sudirman and Minister of Finance Bambang Brodjonegoro.
On Tuesday, Birol made the Indonesian launch of the recent World Energy Outlook Special Report on Air Pollution at an event that attracted around 250 representatives from government, embassies, and industry. Discussants on the expert panel that followed his presentation included Sudirman, Satya Widya Yudha, Vice-Chairman of the Indonesian parliament's energy commission and Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, Chairman of the Advisory Council for Climate Change and former Minister of Environment. A luncheon hosted by the Australian Embassy took place after the event, gathering ambassadors and senior officials from several countries from the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.